I Almost Called This Post "Friends In Low Places"

Let's talk about our guilty pleasures. Need a definition? A guilty pleasure is defined as "something one enjoys and considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it. The "guilt" involved is sometimes simply fear of others discovering one's lowbrow or otherwise embarrassing tastes." That's straight from wikipedia. And yes I will try to use the term "lowbrow" more often, thank you wikipedia. Need some help getting started? Ok, here are some of mine.

1. Red velvet anything. The other day I made red velvet cupcakes from a box mix and didn't even bother to frost them. Or share.

2. Barry Manilow. I've seen him in concert at least twice, maybe three times. I know all the classics by heart and used to make myself hoarse in the car singing "Weekend in New England".

3. I put on my pajamas when I get home from work. I didn't realize that was weird until my sister made fun of me.

4. The movie Coyote Ugly. So bad it's good.

5. Bethenny Frankel. You may know her from "Real Housewives of New York City" seasons 1-3, or from her shows "Bethenny Getting Married" and "Bethenny Ever After". Or you may not know her at all if your tastes tend more towards highbrow than low. This is a serious guilty pleasure. I DVR every episode of her shows and watch them multiple times. I recently read her book "A Place of Yes".

Now does it count as a guilty pleasure if it changes your life? I mean really changes your outlook which in turn changes your attitude at work, in love and in the way you fit into the world? Because this book and her ideas and advice have truly made a difference to me. A "place of yes" is an attitude that allows you to open yourself up to the world and to what your life is meant to be. It encourages you to live with acceptance, of yourself and others, and not to let fear make your decisions. It gives you permission to be yourself, make mistakes, embrace challenge and aim high. It reminds you that a life lived in truth is a life well lived.

I'm currently trying to put together a research project looking at a curricular intervention I'm developing. I've never done anything like this before and I feel completely overwhelmed. Daily, I struggle with the voice that tells me "This is way too much to take on. You'll never be ready to do this by July. The residents won't participate. You will fail and look like an idiot." I'm afraid that I can't do and be everything I want to and my knee jerk response is to give up, put on my pajamas and eat cupcakes. But, I've learned from a reality TV star that if I come from "a place of yes", I will always be better than good enough. And that's good enough for me.